BR Grassy Narrows Rae – CP

Source: The Canadian Press – Broadcast wire
Nov 28, 2017

A former Ontario premier and federal Liberal leader says he had no idea during his tenure as premier that there was likely ongoing mercury contamination taking place upstream from Grassy Narrows First Nation.

A recently disclosed 2016 report says the contamination lingered for decades after mercury from an upstream paper mill was first dumped in the Wabigoon River in northwestern Ontario in the 1960s.

The findings, first published by the The Toronto Star, were commissioned for the mill’s current owner, Domtar, and show contamination lingered for decades and likely still does.

Rae, whose term as premier began in 1990, said yesterday he had no idea that was the case, adding that the report makes it clear that vital information was missing.

Rae’s comments — made on the sidelines of an Indigenous Peoples summit in Ottawa — come ahead of a meeting tomorrow between First Nations leaders and Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott.

Grassy Narrows Chief Simon Fobister has cheered Ontario’s commitment to spend 85-million dollars cleaning up the mess, but wants the federal government to pay for a new facility in the community so locals can receive treatment closer to home.

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(The Canadian Press)

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